Corporate Travel Expense Trimming
4 Effective Ways To Trim Your Expense Sheet for Your Corporate Travels
Not too many years ago, “experts” predicted that technology would mean the death of business travel. After all, why would companies fork out (on average) nearly $1,000 per traveler per trip when it’s much faster, easier, and cheaper to simply host conferences online and video chat with clients?
As it happens, technology didn’t put much of a dent in business travel. American business people take almost 460 million trips per year, spending a grand total of more than $283 billion. This figure is expected to climb as we close in on 2020. When it comes to closing the deal, wooing lucrative clients, and conferencing with industry leaders, there simply is no technological replacement for the in-person business trip.
Nonetheless, businesses of all sizes and revenue levels continually seek ways to cut costs on those essential business travels. From insisting that the traveler pay for their own trip and then seek reimbursement to limiting spending for services like airport transfers, every company has its own means and methods for trying to do the same thing for less money.
If you happen to be one of the professionals who travel frequently, that often means making sacrifices. How can you cut costs for your business travel while still enjoying a measure of comfort and managing to impress your clients? Here’s our helpful hints.
1. Learn the Art of Flying on the Cheap
Occasionally, your big client has an emergency and needs your top engineer out in San Francisco stat. But more often, you can control when you go on business trips. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the cheapest days to fly, and you can cut that another 44% if you book at least 15 days in advance. Bite the bullet and take the redeye for another 6% savings. You can also cut costs considerably by flying into a regional airport instead of the larger international airports like SFO. For clients you only fly out to see a time or two per year, you can save significantly by paying attention to the holidays and prime vacation times. For example, book flights in the wintertime after the holidays and before Mardi Gras and Spring Break. Avoid traveling in the summertime, unless absolutely necessary, and resume your business flights in August, avoiding dates when people might be traveling for the holidays or when colleges and universities let out for fall break.
2. A Limo Rental Actually Saves You Money in the Long Run
While Uber and Lyft are gaining traction among business travelers, you can actually save money in the long run by booking a limousine for your airport transfer and corporate ground transportation. The reasons are simple: first, does your Uber driver really care if you get to your client appointment on time? Nope. Do you really want to put the fate of a meeting with a $2 million client on the line for some guy making $12 beer money for a cross-town ride? Second, renting a car racks up so many extra costs — from parking fees to prepaid gas you might not even use. Thirdly, business travelers should never depend on public transportation, not in San Francisco or anywhere else, for one really good reason: yuck. Who wants an $800 suit on the public bus?
3. Be Prepared to Work the System
Most business travelers want (and deserve) a measure of comfort. Learning to cut expenses where it doesn’t matter so much allows you to spend a little more where it truly counts. For instance, if you’re super picky about your hotel rooms, be willing to eat on the cheap and leave room in the budget for a 4-star instead of a rent-by-the-hour. Cutting down on your check-in luggage can pad the budget a bit for a limo for your airport transfer and around-town travels. Sacrifice smartly and it won’t even seem like a sacrifice at all.
4. Have Someone Drive You to the Airport
One of the most wasteful business travel expenses is paying to park your car at the airport during your business trips. Many airports charge upwards of $20 per day for long-term parking, and there is positively zero benefit to this expense. Instead, have a coworker or family member drop you off at the airport and turn to a reputable airport transfer service to get you to your hotel. A limo driver can pick you up curbside, and deliver you to the hotel or business of your choosing, and you will probably save enough on your parking fees to pay for that limo ride. Having a limo for your airport transfer gives you ample time to catch up on your emails and phone calls, so that when you get to your hotel, all you have to do is relax and prepare for your meetings.
Flying into SFO or one of the regional airports in San Francisco or Northern California? Depend on the pros at Elite Limousine to help you keep your airport transfer and corporate travel costs low, while keeping your level of comfort during your business trip as high as possible. Contact us now to book your limo service or for additional details.